Dark Times
by penhierarchy
Summary: Fighting on opposite sides of the war, two lovers make a decision which changes history. Regulus Black's life rewritten. Please read and review.
1. Sacrifice

A/N: Dark Times is my first story and mostly relates to Regulus Black and co. You will probably find that Black's representation in this story is quite original...if not opposed to what is usually written. I ask readers to just go with the flow and hopefully I will be able to provide an explanation in the following chapters! To avoid confusion I should also add that Regulus and Artemis are married at this point in the story.

Chapter 1: **Sacrifice**

Artemis not far behind, Regulus dragged himself from the foaming ocean onto the rocky outcrop. No one but the Dark Lord himselfcould apparate inside the cave where Voldemort kept his horcrux. He looked out to the turbid sea and allowed himself to fully appreciate what they both were about to do. To betray Voldemort was death, both of them knew this buthad gone too far to turn back now. Regulus knew Malfoy and McNair were already growing suspicious. It was only a matter of time until Voldemort discovered that he was alive and kicking.

Artemis shuddered beside him, more from apprehension than from the biting wind and Regulus came to his senses and dried them both with a wave of his wand. They cautiously stepped into the darkened, mossy cave until they found the delicate silver outline on the cave wall. Regulus made the blood sacrifice himself, something he would have relished in former days. As he opened a fresh wound on his hand, he began to realise its baseness. Artemis had shown him that there were better things in life. Further on inside the pitch black cave, it was Artemis who discovered the chain which summoned the small boat from the depths of the inferi ridden lake. Regulus held her trembling hand as she stepped carefully into the craft. Sadness had begun to overtake them at this most awful of lovers partings.

They together reached the small island in the lake and walked up to the glowing basin. 'Do it quickly,'croaked Artemis hoarsely, 'before they realize where we are.'

Without another word, Regulus summoned a goblet and drew from the clear, thickening substance in the basin, at the bottom of which lay Slytherin's locket. Artemis downed the draught, paused, smiled grimly and drew again twice more. Suddenly she groaned and stumbled backwards from the basin. Knowing the effects of the liquid, Regulus's took the goblet from her gently and began to administer yet more of the poisonous substance to Artemis. Though she pleaded and screamed for mercy he knew he must not stop.

Finally the basin grew empty and Regulus tapped his wand lightly to her forehead, sending her immediately into an enchanted sleep, temporarily freeing her from pain. Following this, he reached into the basin and took Voldemort's horcrux and placed it inside his robe, replacing in the bowl his own worthless trinket. Wedged inside the fake locket was a small scrap of parchment, an explanation to the Dark Lord, signed with the intertwined initials of Regulus and Artemis Black.

_**R.A.B.**_

Reaching down, he took the sleeping Artemis in his arms and carried her into the boat. Slowly he made his way through to the entrance to the cave and struggled through the rough waters with Artemis in tow. It was not until he reached the small pinacle that he realized that Artemis had flown further than he could travel.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed. Please review, no matter what you write, it is always appreciated.


	2. Mother's Daughter

A/N: This chapter goes back to Artemis's childhood and fills in a few gaps. This and the following chapters will hopefully build up the background information relating to the events of chapter one. In essence...writing the story's ending first, and then going back to the beginning. Hope that isn't too confusing:)

**Mother's Daughter**

Artemis was her mother's daughter in all aspects but one. She had not only inherited her mother's fair hair, pale skin, emerald eyes, sun kissed cheeks and neat figure but had also inherited her mother's magic. Fortunately, that was where the similarities ended. Where Heena was neurotic and worrisome, Artemis was quietly confidant and calm. Where her mother was easily persuaded, Artemis could be as stubborn as a mule. Where her mother was impatient, Artemis could wait for hours. Sometimes, Artemis thought, things would have been better had the roles of mother and child been reversed.

Artemis's muggle father had died when she was very little, leaving her migraine prone mother living on a Ministry pension. Because they were poor they were unable to afford a proper magical education for Artemis and Heena took it upon herself to tutor her as a witch in the small Buntingshire cottage where they lived.

So it was that Artemis was given an unusual magical schooling. Because of Heena's frequent neurosis, Artemis often found herself free to do whatever she pleased. Whether it was terrorizing the nearest cow paddock with broomstick antics or magically transfiguring the hay bales at the nearest farm to look like famous buildings, the whole village knew that something was odd about that house on top of the hill.

Artemis was quick and became magically powerful through her experimentation. In her Ministry home education exams she achieved remarkable results and was awarded a scholarship for her sixth year to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Both Heena and Artemis were literally over the moon. Little did Artemis realize what dark things were destined for her at Hogwarts and beyond.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed. Please review, no matter what you think, it is always appreciated.


	3. Half Blood

A/N: Artemis is finally at Hogwarts, in her sixth year (Gryffindor). This chapter was mainly to fill in some details about the Regulus's character leading upto future events... Please forgive the shortness of my chapters and the infrequency of updates. I can't help it, I swear! School has started again so don't expect much done.

**Half-blood**

Sitting under a precarious mountain of books, Artemis groaned inwardly as she watched Regulus Black and his coterie of Slytherins slip into the library under Madam Pince's watchful stare. They took a table far to the left of hers, underneath the portrait of the Drunken Monk and began to talk in hushed voices. Assured that none of her precious volumes were under threat, Madam Pince slowly moved into another corner of the library. Seizing his opportunity, Regulus jumped from his seat and sauntered slowly over to where Artemis sat, much to the delight of the Slytherins watching.

Regulus Black had a reputation throughout the school. The strikingly handsome quidditch player and his group of Slytherin followers were very much responsible for the disturbance between many of the pureblood, half blood and muggle born students at Hogwarts. Like generations of Blacks before him, Regulus covertly supported Voldemort's purification of the wizarding race, an issue which had not captured so much attention for many years. Few now remembered the legend of the Chamber of Secrets and fewer still knew the reason why Moaning Myrtle haunted the girls' bathroom on the second floor.

Artemis tried to look engrossed in her book; she didn't want any trouble coming from Regulus, something which was inevitable she realized later. The fact that the volume she had chosen to immerse herself in was _Hobb's Guide to 100 Goblin Rebellions_ didn't help matters either. After what seemed an age, Regulus pulled out the chair next to her and fell into the seat, making sure to jolt the table. Swiping the book from her hands, he said loudly enough for even the Slytherin table to hear, "What happened to your father half-blood?"

The entire library froze. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked over to where Artemis now stood. "I don't know whether it is any of your business in the first place, Black." She said equally loudly but at the same time trying to maintain calm. She could feel the heat rising to her face. No one mentioned her father. Not ever. Even Artemis's mother had said very little about what had happened. "An accident." Were the only words that Artemis could pry from her pursed lips.

Sneering, Black addressing the gathering crowd: "I don't believe it! The stupid half-blood doesn't even know what happened to her father." The statement was greeted with appreciative sniggers.

Artemis began to think desperately. Surely her mother must have said something more; a name, a place? Nothing. Artemis held only vague memories of her father; itchy woollen jumpers smelling of soap. Large hands, warm but smooth and a deep throated voice, comforting and familiar.

"Your father was a coward." Regulus's taunt tore though her reverie. "He deserved to be kille-."

**:xXx:**

A/N: Most awful cliffhanger ending. Forgive me. I had to get something published, but I didn't want to wait until I figured out what is coming next :S . I confuse myself sometimes!

Please press the purple button. I know I would!


	4. Traitor's Blood

**Traitor's Blood**

"He deserved to be kille-."

"EXPELLIARMUS!"

Artemis suddenly saw red. Never had she felt so furious in her entire life. Before she realised what she was doing, Regulus was flat on his back, blood beginning to seep through a gash on his head. He had hit the bookshelf on the way down. Heads began to turn and suddenly the library was in uproar. Madam Pince began screeching in the background, seemingly unable to do anything. The Slytherins quickly gathered to Regulus's defence, and she managed to hit two of them before a burning shock below her ribs sent her flying sideways into a trolley.

Suddenly, a deep rumbling growl echoed from the library doorway. "Enough!"

Professor Dumbledore strode into the library, covering three steps with every one pace. Artemis had never seen him look so angry. His dancing eyes had become as hard as coal and his white, long fingered hand shook with fury as he pointed his wand at the upturned shelves, righting them in an instant. Chairs began to clatter back underneath the tables. The trolley underneath Artemis shuddered impatiently and she clambered unsteadily to her feet. Over near the bookshelf, Regulus too pulled himself upright. To Artemis's disgust, no serious damage had been done to his frame. For her though, it seemed a different story. Dull, throbbing pain emanated from where she had been hit and spread like a hot, sinewy blanket all up and down the left side of her body. She felt queasy and the room seemed to spin. She looked up and Regulus leered at her, his twisted face the last thing she saw before she passed out.

**:xx:**

Madam Pomfrey's approaching footsteps drew Artemis from her sleep. She peered groggily around the room and quickly realised where she was. Unis Redford, a second year Hufflepuff, suffering what only could be described as an incurable Sphinx complex, stared catlike at her from her hospital cot. Artemis raised herself cautiously on her elbows. Everything seemed to be in working order, although a headache had begun to crawl up the back of her neck. A flustered looking Madam Pomfrey bustled in and after a glance at Artemis, quickly pulled the curtains around Unis as she began bubbling fragmented riddles. "Two legs…morning…four legs…evening…" Madam Pomfrey turned to Artemis and placed a goblet of foul smelling potion on her bedside table. "Good, you're up. Professor Dumbledore was very keen to speak to you. You can expect him to be here shortly. The Professor is uncanny, the way he knows things."

Dumbledore arrived in the hospital wing before Artemis finished the potion. She looked determinedly at the bed cover, her hands knotted underneath the bedclothes. Artemis had expected some stern punishment sentence but she realised, as Dumbledore summoned a cushioned chair that this was not to be the order of the day. Dumbledore sat reflectively for a moment, and then began. "Artemis, disappointed as I am in your behaviour in the library, I am even more disappointed with your mother, for not giving the full details of what happened to your father, how he died."

On the third of September, 1965, Artemis's father had taken a train to Kings Cross and from there, made his way to a Wizard-Muggle meeting, for those with magical spouses. Voldemort had discovered the meeting, by means still unknown today and a group of rampaging Death Eaters tore the place apart, something they had been planning for weeks. Artemis's father, cornered in the building and in fear of his life, told the Death Eaters where other people were hiding bellow the cellar. Despite this, however, he was tortured and killed. When the Daily Prophet leaked this information, families of lost muggles and wizards both, attached resentment to the surviving family of the traitor: Heena and Artemis.

As Dumbledore's voice dwindled, reasons behind Artemis's secluded lifestyle became brutally clear. With so much hate fostered for her family in the outside world, it was astonishing that she had not realised something was wrong before. Simple things, which she had brushed over her shoulder before gained powerful meaning. A significant look in the corridor, a cruel, yet vague note slipped into a bag; all these things she had just taken as part of coming to a new school. Now she saw differently. Regulus had enlightened her to a hatred so broad and deep it would stick with her for a lifetime. At least now she would knew that it was due, if not her, but her family.

Artemis felt herself shrink within the bedclothes, wishing that they would swallow her up entirely. Dumbledore, finished with his explanation, stared at her with his piercing blue eyes. "It is entirely your decision whether you wish to stay at the school, Artemis. However, your mother is opposed to the idea and has suggested that you are sent home on the first train available. I'll leave you to think about it."

With that, Dumbledore walked out of the room, leaving the plush chair behind.


End file.
